Sex-specific parental strategies according to the sex of offspring in the Adélie penguin

In sexually dimorphic species, the sex of the offspring may induce different constraints for parents. At the same time, within pairs, males and females may have conflicting optimal reproductive strategies. As a result, they may adjust their level of parental investment differently according to the sex of the young. In this study, we examined whether Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) chicks were sexually dimorphic and whether parents adjusted their parental investment accordingly. Male chicks were on average approximately 10% heavier than female chicks but not larger. Despite the presumed additional cost associated with male chick growth, no fitness cost differences were observed between parents rearing 1 chick whatever its sex: Adult body mass changes and resight rates during the subsequent breeding season were similar. However, the sex of offspring affected the duration of foraging trips during the early guard stage: At this stage, female adults rearing a female chick performed longer foraging trips than female adults rearing a male chick and males rearing either a male or a female chick. We propose that, because female adults present a lower survival rate after a breeding attempt, they are more prone to modify their level of parental investment than male adults. Moreover, the modulation of the foraging behavior by female adults according to the sex of the chick is likely to reduce intraspecific competition at a time when resource availability at sea is not optimal and when food requirement for female chicks may be lower than for male chicks. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.